All the normal rules of chess apply except for a few minor enhancements. The board is a 9x9 shogi-sized board with the pieces arranged as they are in shogi. The pieces move like normal chess pieces but three additional compound pieces are added: the Marshall [R+N], the Cardinal [B+N] and the Amazon [Q+N]. Castling is still legal but since the king is an equal distance from both rooks, the terms "short/long castling" are no longer valid; and since black's setup is the reverse of white's, "queen-side/amazon-side castling" is relative, so the preferred convention is: for castling towards the a-file, "O-O-O", or towards the h-file, "O-O". In both cases the king moves three spaces instead of the normal two. Also, because the pawns begin on the third rank there is no initial double step and, therefor, no en passant capturing. Pawns promote on the 9th rank to whatever piece they choose, other than the king. This game is young and may see minor changes in the future. |